MADRID–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/search?q=%24CEMEX&src=ctag” target=”_blank”gt;$CEMEXlt;/agt; lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/CEMEX?src=hash” target=”_blank”gt;#CEMEXlt;/agt;–CEMEX Ventures, the open innovation and Corporate Venture Capital unit
of CEMEX, announced today its investment in Energy Vault, an Idealab
company that has developed a transformative technology to store energy.
The new investment is further reinforced by plans to support rapid
market adoption and deployment of Energy Vault’s technology through
CEMEX’s strategic network.

Energy Vault’s transformative energy storage technology solves a key
challenge for renewables, which have struggled to replace, in a
significant manner, fossil fuel power due to production
unpredictability and intermittency of wind and sunlight. Consequently,
energy storage solutions that can harness energy from renewable
sources become vital if cleaner and more sustainable sources of energy
are sought.

In the absence of longer duration and more cost-effective energy
storage, the amount of electricity that can be delivered to the grid
from renewable energy sources, even though now widely affordable, has
been limited.

For the first time, Energy Vault’s system enables renewables to
deliver baseload power below the cost of fossil fuels 24 hours a day.

This investment follows a previously announced technology partnership
with CEMEX to provide concrete and other composite material technology
for Energy Vault’s storage towers.

Energy Vault’s breakthrough technology was inspired by pumped hydro
plants that rely on the power of gravity and the movement of water to
store and discharge electricity. This solution is based on the same
well-understood principles of physics and mechanical engineering used in
those plants. Energy Vault’s system replaces water with custom made
concrete bricks through an innovative use of low-cost materials. The
massive bricks are combined with its patented system design and
proprietary algorithm-based software to operate a newly designed crane.
The crane orchestrates the energy storage tower and electricity
charge/discharge while accounting for a variety of factors, including
energy supply and demand volatility, weather elements and other
variables such as inertia and system deflection.

As a result, Energy Vault can deliver all the benefits of a
gravity-based pumped hydro system with lower price, higher round trip
efficiency, without the requirement for specific land topographies and
negative environmental or wildlife impacts. Importantly, with Energy
Vault’s longer duration and more cost-effective energy storage,
electricity from renewables can be delivered for less than the price of
fossil fuels 24 hours a day for the first time. In April 2019, Energy
Vault won the World
Changing Idea Award from Fast Company in the
Energy category for the unprecedented economic and environmental
benefits its technology provides.

“Energy storage that enables power to be delivered for less than the
cost of fossil fuels is critical as the world shifts away from its
reliance on carbon-based fuels to renewable energy,” said Gonzalo
Galindo, CEO of CEMEX Ventures. “Energy Vault’s storage technology is
transformational, and we’re extremely pleased to broaden our
relationship and support the company’s efforts. The investment is also
important because it complements the CEMEX R&D partnership and will
accelerate our corporate objectives to achieve a carbon-free industrial
footprint.”

“CEMEX is a key strategic partner that adds critical innovations in
material science that enhance both the economics and longevity of our
energy storage system, and we’re thrilled to expand our partnership to
welcome CEMEX Ventures as an investor,” said Robert Piconi, chief
executive officer and co-founder, Energy Vault. “The combination of
CEMEX’s smart concrete solutions, significant global infrastructure and
now its strategic investment will accelerate our ability to enable
renewable energy to replace fossil fuels 24 hours a day.”

Launched in 2017, CEMEX Ventures focuses on helping overcome the main
challenges and capitalizing on the opportunity areas in the construction
ecosystem through sustainable solutions. CEMEX Ventures has developed an
open collaborative platform to lead the revolution of the construction
industry, engaging startups, entrepreneurs, universities, and other
stakeholders to tackle the challenges in the construction environment
and shape the industry’s future. For more information on CEMEX Ventures,
please visit: www.cemexventures.com.

CEMEX Ventures assumes no obligation to update or correct the
information contained in this press release. CEMEX Ventures is not
responsible for the content of any third-party website or webpage
referenced to or accessible through this press release.